Alf Gover
Alfred Richard Gover
Born: 29 February 1908, Woodcote, Epsom, Surrey
Died: 7 October 2001, South London
Major Teams: Surrey, England.
Known As: Alf Gover
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Fast
Test Debut: England v India at Manchester, 2nd Test, 1936
Last Test: England v India at The Oval, 3rd Test, 1946
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1937
Awarded MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1998 New Years Honours List "for services to cricket".
Career Statistics:
TESTS
(career)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 4 1 1 2 2* - 0 0 1 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 136 26 359 8 44.87 3-85 0 0 102.0 2.63
FIRST-CLASS
(career: 1928 - 1948)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 362 414 167 2312 41* 9.36 0 0 171 0
Balls R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 77269 36753 1555 23.63 8-34 95 17 49.6 2.85
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
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Articles about Alf Gover
Profile:
Longevity was the key word for Alf Gover. His huge feet pounded the turf at
The Oval for many years, as he strove to get life and bounce out of a benign
wicket. Genuinely fast at times, and able to get movement in the air and off
the seam, he was unlucky not to play more than four Tests. He failed to take
a wicket in his debut Test against India, yet two catches were dropped off
his bowling on the first morning. His run up was described as "resembling a
man pursuing a bus whose speed was slightly in excess of his own" (David
Frith, The Fast Men), but his action was excellent.
Born in 1908 on February 29th near Epsom in Surrey, Gover worked for most
of his life, had a long and distinguished career with Surrey and only a
short Test career, but his four matches were spread over a period of 10
years, interrupted by the Second World War.
Gover became the world's oldest surviving Test cricketer when R.E.S.
Wyatt, who was born only a few miles away from him in Surrey, died in April
1995. Upon Gover's own death in October 2001, the mantle passed to Gordon
Weir of New Zealand, who was also born in 1908, while Norman Mitchell-Innes,
born in 1914, became the oldest English Test cricketer.
Gover's first-class career lasted all of 20 years. He made his debut in
1928 and in the subsequent 362 matches this tall man for the time (6 foot 2
inches) with an enthusiastic action would charge in, often on totally
unresponsive Oval pitches.
These conditions did not stop him taking 1,555 wickets during his career
at a cost of only 23.63 apiece, and on eight occasions he took 100 wickets
in a season. In 1936 he became the first fast bowler since Tom Richardson in
1897 to take 200 wickets in a season, and he repeated the achievement the
following year.
Gover's performance in 1936 failed to gain him selection for the tour to
Australia the following winter, even though he had made his Test debut that
summer. He went wicketless at Old Trafford against India, despite the fact
that two catches were dropped in the slips off his bowling in the first
session of play. He did, however, strike seven times the following summer in
his two Tests against New Zealand at Lord's and The Oval.
With another 200 wickets to his credit that summer, he did make the
touring party to India in 1937-38. It was on that tour, at Indore, that Alf
Gover became the focus of one of the classical humorous stories in which
cricket delights.
Dysentery was rife in the area and the tourists were not immune. As Gover
began his characteristic run up to the wicket at the start of an over, he
continued past the umpire, through the crease, accelerated past a somewhat
bemused batsman waiting to take strike, through the slip cordon who turned
as one to see the bowler disappear into the pavilion in desperate search of
a lavatory.
Unfortunately, in his predicament, he had forgotten to leave the ball on
the field of play and fine leg was despatched to retrieve it. It is reported
that fine leg then emerged from the pavilion clutching his prize, suggesting
that it would be judicious to secure the services of a substitute fielder
without delay.
While Gover recovered from that discomfort, his knee let him down and he
appeared in none of the Tests on that tour. After the war, however, he
returned to England colours in 1946 at the Oval for what turned out to be
his final Test.
He continued to play effectively for Surrey until the age of 40, when he
retired from first-class cricket. He moved into journalism and, more
significantly, into coaching. In unglamorous surroundings at the back of a
garage in Wandsworth in south London, he ran an indoor cricket school at a
time when such establishments were rare.
He was still coaching in whites well into his seventies. It was at his
indoor school that I had the pleasure of meeting him in person for the only
time. As a promising fast bowler in club cricket, I was sent there to refine
my technique.
I remember a kind, venerable figure in an England sweater, ramrod
straight in stature. I remember the tatty net area and the overpowering
smell of rubber from the matting on the floor and behind the stumps. I
regret that I remember nothing of what the great man had to tell me. Perhaps
he thought I was a lost cause and decided not to waste his precious
knowledge on a hopeless case. I doubt that and suspect that the fault was
all mine.
Many more deserving cases benefitted from his tutelage, and a veritable
Who's Who of world cricket passed through those unprepossessing doors to
emerge as better cricketers. And to show that it was not only bowlers he
could improve, both Viv Richards and Andy Roberts were sent to Wandsworth on
their arrival in England as budding overseas professionals.
It was where the great Surrey side of the fifties learned their cricket,
including Tony Lock, the left-arm spinner who was thought to have developed
his unlawful action by trying to keep the ball below the top netting in the
Gover indoor school.
It was not until 1998 that Gover received recognition for his services to
cricket in the form of an MBE. No doubt that great Surrey supporter and
former prime minister, John Major, felt that the time was then right for
someone as renowned for his longevity as Alf Gover to be rewarded for a
lifetime of contributions to the game. (Ralph Dellor, Copyright CricInfo
2001)
Last Updated: Friday, 16-Aug-2002 22:14:08 GMT
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